Actis acquires $62mln stake in Sigma Pensions

Actis, the leading emerging markets private equity investment manager is spending $62 million to acquire a majority stake in partnership with the CEO and management of Sigma Pensions, a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) in Nigeria. Neither the size of the stake nor valuation terms of the deal were disclosed. Sigma was founded in 2004 and, working from 11 offices and 32 service centers, currently has over 650,000 customers. The private equity fund manager plans to help further expand the business, combining the capital with its asset management and distribution expertise.

Actis is one of the largest investors in Africa’s financial services sector with over $570 million invested to date. The private equity firm sees significant potential in the continent’s asset management industry, as a young, growing population start to save and invest for the future. Nigeria’s pensions industry is markedly under-penetrated, with pension assets constituting only about 5% of the country’s GDP. Among the population of 170 million people whose media age is 19 years, there are only 6 million pension-holders, underscoring the growth potential for Sigma and its competitive set.

“Building on our extensive experience in the asset management and distribution sector, we are very excited to be investing behind a growing consumer demand for future financial protection and well-being in Nigeria,” commented Natalie Kolbe, a Partner at Actis. “In Sigma, we have identified a well-managed, solid business with ‘best in industry’ back office, IT and operational systems and excellent customer service that can leverage these underlying secular trends.”